Put the camera down.

Sometimes I’m really blown away that we have the power to preserve something so intangible as love, connection, and joy.

Seriously. Think about that. Your designer jeans won’t be your legacy, neither will the car you drove or the bag you carried. But the people you loved – the family you made – the friends you cared for – they’re all threads in the tapestry of your legacy. A legacy that can be captured and celebrated in photographs that will be passed down for generations.

Mamas? I want to talk to you for a minute. I see you there with your iPhones, your fancy DSLR’s, trying to capture every moment hoping to share it, look back on it, not forget. But if you’re like me, when you scroll through your camera roll, you’re just not in any family shots. Oh yes, there’s the kids. There’s even a shot of your spouse, and maybe a selfie of the two of you. But where did you disappear to? It’s not selfish or vain to want to be in these pictures – it’s an actual need that your children have for you to show up. Your children may not remember all the times you rocked them in the night when they cried. All the times you fixed their scraped-up knees and broken toys. All the playing tag in the yard. Leave them evidence of a life well loved.

A few years ago, a beautiful blog post went viral called “The Mom Stays In The Picture.” The author, Allison Tate, talks about how mamas everywhere go unseen – we’re not as young or skinny or perfect as we’d like, so we shy away from pictures til we “finish” perfecting ourselves. But what will our children have of us when we’re gone? Where is the evidence that we loved our children to the verge of insanity; that we played with them; that we held their hands and kissed their cheeks? This absence is not okay. This is near and dear to the heart of my passion – to put the mom (and the dad!!) back in the picture. So whether you book a session with me, bribe a neighbor kid with cookies to snap a pic of your family, or use the reverse-camera option on your iPhone – GET. IN. THE. PICTURE. Do it for them.

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Emily Lapish is a lifestyle photographer in Chattanooga, TN specializing in all things family-related. She spends her time fending off wild animals raising three boys with her husband, and enjoys long walks through Target while cradling a hazelnut latte.

To book your birth, beauty, or family session, or to schedule a free consultation,click here.